Photo-induced carbon dioxide reduction on hexagonal tungsten oxide via an oxygen vacancies-involved process

摘要

Although converting the greenhouse gasses carbon dioxide(CO_(2))into solar fuels is regarded as a convenient means of solar energy storage,the intrinsic mechanism on how the high chemical inertness linear CO_(2)molecules is activated and converted on a semiconductor oxide is still elusive.Herein,by creating the oxygen vacancies on the typical hexagonal tungsten oxide(WO3),we realize the continuous photoinduced CO_(2)reduction to selectively produce CO under light irradiation,which was verified by isotope labeling experiment.Detailed oxygen vacancies evolution investigation indicates that light irradiation can simultaneously induce the in-situ formation of oxygen vacancies on hexagonal WO3,and the oxygen vacancies promote the adsorption and activation of CO_(2)molecules,leading to the CO_(2)reduction to CO on the hexagonal WO3via an oxygen vacancies-involved process.Besides,the existence of water further promotes the formation of CO_(2)reduction intermediate,further promote the CO_(2)photoreduction.Our work provides insight on the mechanism for converting CO_(2)into CO under light irradiation.